Halle Berry

Dark Horse Lead Actress: 'Things We Lost in the Fire'

Why: Two strong lead performance by a pair of Oscar winners and mostly positive reviews weren’t enough to draw any sizeable audience to check out this introspective film by Danish director Susanne Bier. Voters who failed to see the film in theaters — and there are plenty who didn’t — will now have the opportunity to assess on screeners and determine if Berry’s perf is worthy of a second nom. Since her win for “Monster’s Ball,” Berry has concentrated mostly on big-budget tentpoles (“X-Men”), but clearly she has a history of excelling in indies.